Yushin Okami vs. Dan Miller announced for UFC 98 main card
by MMAjunkie.com Staff on Mar 04, 2009 at 8:45 am ET
Hoping to claim his long-awaited shot at the middleweight title, Yushin Okami (23-4 MMA, 7-1 UFC) will return in May at UFC 98 for a fight with Dan Miller (11-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC).

The UFC recently announced that main-card bout and nearly every other fight for the upcoming card, which takes place May 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The pay-per-view show is headlined by a previously announced main event and title-unification bout between UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and interim title-holder Frank Mir, and the UFC also confirmed a previously reported co-main event between Matt Hughes and Matt Serra.

With middleweight champ Anderson Silva set to face Thales Leites at UFC 97, much of the attention has turned to contenders Demian Maia and Nate Marquardt. However, with a 7-1 record in the UFC (and his lone UFC loss coming to then-top contender Rich Franklin in 2007), Okami could be the most deserving of the next title shot.

Okami returned from a near-10-month layoff in December and defeated Dean Lister via unanimous decision at UFC 92. The fight, though, took place on the night's un-aired preliminary card.

He'll return to the main card in May to fight Miller, a former IFL fighter who's torn through the UFC with three consecutive victories. After signing with the UFC in 2008, Miller made his debut with a first-round submission victory over Rob Kimmons at UFC Fight Night 15. He's since posted a decision win over Matt Horwich at UFC 90 and a submission win over Jake Rosholt last month at UFC Fight Night 17.